Global warming is changing the Earth’s weather patterns. The extremes of weather that we’re accustomed to are pulling away from each other. Floods are sweeping through new areas of the country, wildfires are rampaging through neighborhoods, and droughts are drying up once fertile lands.

Amidst all this climate turbulence it is important that each of us does all we can to conserve and protect our water sources this summer—whether that’s a well, a spring, or a resovoir. Here are nine ways that you can save water this summer and protect the resource we all need—and need to share.

Beginner:

1. Wash your car at home rather than at a car wash. (It takes about 70 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of gasoline.)

2. “If it’s yellow let it mellow. It it’s brown, flush it down.”

3. Store drinking water in a jug in the refrigerator, rather than waiting for the tap to run cold. (This will also help your refrigerator stay down in temperature! See this video tip.[1])

Enthusiast:

4. If you have an old toilet, you can reduce the amount of water it uses by putting a “displacement device” in the tank. Using small plastic bottles filled with water works well. (Over a quarter of all the clean, drinkable water you use in your home is used to flush the toilets.)

5. While waiting for your sink water to run hot, collect the cold and use it on your plants and garden.

7. Use a rain barrel to collect the rainwater from your roof, rather than wasting treated drinking water on your garden. Some water companies either provide them free or at a reduced price. You can also build your own.

8. Build up your garden’s soil by using plenty of manure and compost. This will increase its ability to retain moisture—reducing the need for watering.

9. Hand-wash your laundry.

If you have more tips, let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear them.